The One You Want for Valentine's Day

	Crawford pounded on the door harder. “Come on Schuldich! Wake up! You only
have half an hour!”
	Even through the door he could hear the red head yawn. “Fine, fine. Just come in
and stop knocking my door down.”
	Crawford opened the door and walked briskly in. He was in such a hurry that he
almost forgot to take off his shoes in the entranceway. He stormed through the tiny
apartment, down the hall and around the corner. There was Schuldich, still in bed. 
	Schuldich was laying on his stomach. The covers only covered below his waist.
His arms were beneath his pillow and his head was raised. He gave Crawford a sleepy
look, yawning once more.
	Crawford stared in surprise at the red head and then averted his gaze. He shoved
his hands in his pockets and turned around to leave. He tilted his head back, not enough
to see Schuldich again, but enough that his voice carried. “Just get ready. We’re leaving
soon.”
	“Crawford...” Crawford turned at the sound of his name. Schuldich was beginning
to stand up. He slid a leg out of bed, the cover falling off to reveal his hip. Bare and pale,
his naked skin reached from his ankle to his shoulder with no piece of cloth covering him. 
	Crawford turned and ran out of the apartment, to hide the faint blush that covered
his cheeks. As soon as he had slammed the apartment door, he leaned against it. Fool, he
thought to himself. Why was he embarrassed by that?  Stupid Schuldich. It’s not like he
liked him or anything. They were only partners on the same team.
	Half an hour later, all four members of Schwarz were ready to leave. Crawford
looked them over, a habit he had formed. Farfarello had his knives, armed to the teeth.
Nagi had nothing, but stood primly in his school uniform. Schuldich stood lazily, like it
was too much effort to stand straight. Crawford knew from experience that the red head
carried a dagger beneath that coat, although he looked unarmed.
	And himself. He looked dashing, his opinion of himself. He wore a creme suit,
tailored to fit his build. He was proud of his tailored suits and the fact that they were all
spotless. He adjusted his tie and nodded to the other three.
	“All right, let’s go.”
	They set off in Crawford’s BMW. They didn’t live with Takatori, they only
guarded him during the day. They were there just in time, as their boss Takatori was
emerging from the house at that moment. They quickly departed the car and traded it for a
limo, which Takatori loved to travel in. 
	“So, how’s the future?” Takatori asked Crawford after they had all settled into the
limo. 
	Although his outward expression was business-like, inside Crawford grimaced.
His power, to look into the near future, could be such a pain at times. He didn’t always
see the future. It was like a stream of time ran through his head and when he wanted to,
he could enter it and see what was going to happen. The same went for Nagi and
Schuldich. They didn’t use their powers all the time; they tapped into them as needed. 
	Crawford nodded. “Looks good so far.”
	Takatori nodded, pleased. The rest of the morning went on as usual. Takatori did
his usual bad-guy boss dealings, and Schwarz followed him to protect him. Crawford
checked the stream of time several times that day, but he didn’t foresee an attack by
WeiB. By afternoon, he stopped checking.
	Mid-afternoon rolled around and Takatori ordered to be taken home. They went,
and he told Schwarz that he had no further use for them. Takatori departed into the house,
and the four men piled into Crawford’s BMW once again. On the way back, Schuldich,
who sat beside the driving Crawford, took that opportunity to light up a cigarette.
	Crawford glanced irritably over at him. “Do you mind?” he asked tightly.
	Schuldich grinned back at him. “Not really.”
	Suddenly, the front windshield shattered as a rock flew through the glass.
Crawford instantly slammed on the breaks, and the car shuddered to a stop. The four sat
there for a moment, collecting their thoughts. They were all unhurt, except for a few
minor scratches from the broken glass.
	Schuldich was the first out, slamming the car door angrily. “Who the hell...?” he
started to say, but something stopped him. The other three exited the car to have a look.
	Standing in the middle of the road was WeiB. Dressed to kill in black with
weapons at ready, they blocked the road. Ken tossed another rock up and down in his
hand while grinning at Schwarz. 
	“Hope no one was hurt,” he said in a polite voice. The others grinned except for
Aya, who scowled more, if possible.
	Crawford stepped forward and casually adjusted his glasses. He smiled thinly.
“Unfortunately for you, no one was hurt.” He flung his hand out, a signal to the others. 
	Farfarello drew his blades and charged at WeiB. Schuldich ran right alongside
him, balling his fists up. Nagi braced himself in front of the car and held his hand out. He
squinted at WeiB, waiting for the moment to strike. Crawford took up position next to
Nagi, to protect the smaller boy.
	As expected, three out of the four boys moved out of the way of the charging
Farfarello and Schuldich. Aya drew his katana and met Farfarello’s charge. With his good
reflexes, Schuldich jumped along with Yoji, following his every move. He delivered a
kick to the WeiB assassin in the air and managed to knock the man away. 
	Crawford noticed that the assassin  Ken was sneaking up behind Schuldich.
Instead of calling out, he quietly slinked up behind the boy. As he delivered a kick to the
boy, Ken turned in surprise, and ended up received the kick in the stomach. Schuldich
turned and gave Crawford a tense smile before running off to fight more with Yoji. 
	Crawford turned in time to face Nagi. The two Schwarz men faced each other.
Omi was positioned between them, facing the younger Schwarz boy. Nagi aimed his hand
and released a huge amount of ki directed at the boy. 
	Crawford could only watch as the air disturbance raced towards him. As he
expected, Omi had jumped out of the way of the ki blast, leaving Crawford in the way.
Slowly, the air traveled towards him, and still he could not move from his spot.
	In an instant, the blast knocked him away, tumbling head over heels across the
narrow street. He slammed into the concrete wall and passed out from the impact. 
	The remaining Schwarz men and the four WeiB boys stared in surprise at the body
of Crawford now implanted in the wall. His arms and legs were spread eagle, and he
faced the people in the street, although his eyes were not open. 
	Schuldich took immediate action. He rushed over to Crawford. “Keep them away
for the moment! We have to help Crawford!”
	Nagi and Farfarello nodded and took up defensive positions in front of Schuldich.
The red head looked at Crawford, wondering how he’s pull the older man from the
concrete. He marveled at the power that had been able to send their leader several
centimeters deep into the wall. He pulled Crawford free and the three of them rushed to
the BMW. Nagi held off WeiB with ki blasts that became weaker and weaker. Schuldich
gently put the unconscious form of Crawford on the seat next to him and started up the
car. He flung open the back doors and slammed on the accelerator. Nagi and Farfarello
dived into the car as it passed and they quickly left WeiB behind.
	Schuldich drove at breakneck speed down the narrow streets. He kept glancing
nervously over at the still form of Crawford. “God, Nagi! Why’d you go and hit him with
your blast?”
	Nagi slumped in the back seat, obviously drained from exerting so much energy.
“Meant for Omi... Crawford... in the way...” With a huge sigh, Nagi passed out. 
	“Damnit!” Schuldich pressed the pedal harder. 

	Nagi slept in the waiting room and Farfarello watched the goldfish that swam
lazily in their tank. Schuldich nervously paced the floor, wondering the whole time how
Crawford was doing. 
	“Is someone here for a Crawford, Brad?” a nurse asked. She stood shyly in the
doorway looking at the three men. 
	Schuldich jumped forward. “That’s me! How... How’s he doing?” He gulped. “Is
he hurt bad?”
	The nurse smiled prettily. “Oh no. Mr. Crawford is fine. He’s bruised just about
everywhere, he broke a few ribs and a few fingers, but other than that, he’s fine.”
	Schuldich wasn’t sure what to feel, relief or disappointment. “Can I see him?”
	“Sure. Follow me.”
	Schuldich decided on both feelings. He was relieved that Crawford hadn’t been
hurt any badly, but he was disappointed that it hadn’t been less. He shrugged to himself as
he walked down the corridor. Weird feelings. Why’d he even really care anyway?
	The nurse ushered him into a room. “Looks like he’s asleep.”
	“I’ll wait,” Schuldich replied. The nurse nodded and shut the door behind her as
she left. Schuldich advanced on Crawford and sat down next to the bed.
	He silently contemplated the sleeping man. He wore white, lying in a white bed,
in a white room. The covers were pulled up to Crawford’s armpits with his arms resting
outside the sheets. His glasses lay on the table next to the bed. His face was serene. His
hair had been pushed back off his forehead, and Schuldich found himself liking it better
that way. A piece of white tape had been placed over the corner of Crawford’s mouth to
cover the cut. The only movement was the steady rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. 
	Schuldich sat and watched Crawford sleep until the man woke up. Slowly, his
dark eyes fluttered open. A hand shakily rose and slapped onto his forehead. A groan
issued from his mouth as he suddenly felt the pain that ran through his body. 
	Schuldich smiled down at Crawford, relieved once more. “’Bout time you woke
up,” he commented.
	Crawford focused his eyes on Schuldich. “Wha...?” he croaked hoarsely. 
	Schuldich picked up Crawford’s glasses and slid them onto the hurt man’s face.
Crawford blinked a few times and then refocused on the red head. Schuldich casually
leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
	“You sure got a beating.”
	“What happened?” Crawford asked. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned
back on the pillow.
	“Nagi sent a ki blast as Omi, but Omi dodged. You, you slow-poke, couldn’t get
out of the way in time, so you were hit with the blast.”  Schuldich made a measurement
with his fingers, a couple centimeters apart. “You were knocked this far into the wall!
Why, your impression is still there!”
	Crawford let a big sigh and closed his eyes. “So that’s why I hurt so much.” He
reopened his eyes. “Is anyone else hurt?”
	“Nagi’s tired because he’s been shooting off ki all afternoon, but besides that,
nope.”
	Crawford placed his hands under him and began to push himself up. Pain racked
through his body. His eyes opened wide with the feel, and he dropped back into the bed.
	“God damn,” he groaned through clenched teeth.
	Schuldich half rose from his chair in surprise. “C-Crawford! Are you okay?” he
asked frantically.
	Crawford nodded. He brought his hands up to cover his face. “Ohh...,” he moaned
again. He removed his hands and held a hand out to Schuldich. “Help me sit up,” he
commanded.
	Schuldich took the outstretched hand and held it for a moment. It felt so nice.
Cool, smooth skin that held onto his. He liked the feeling. He held the hand but dropped
it after Crawford began to give him an odd look.
	“Ahh, yeah!” Schuldich stood up, embarrassed by what he was done. He put a
hand behind Crawford’s back and retook the hand that was offered to him. On a whim, he
quickly slipped his mind into Crawford’s.
	Together, they pushed Crawford’s aching body up. As the pain started Schuldich
diverted it from Crawford’s mind to his own. They both grimaced in pain as they gently
maneuvered the hurt body to a sitting position. As soon as Schuldich let go, Crawford’s
hand flung out and struck him on the cheek.
	Schuldich took a step back, surprise. Crawford also stared at him in surprise, his
hand still extended. “Wh... What was that for?” the red head asked, startled.
	Crawford’s cheeks became gently red. “D- don’t put your mind in mine! I don’t
need your help!” He retracted his hand and balled it into a fist. “I don’t need you to take
the pain.”
	Schuldich sat down, a hurt expression in his eyes. He put a hand to his reddening
cheek. “I was just trying to help...”
	An uncomfortable silence followed. Crawford clasped his hands in his lap and
stared at them while Schuldich stared at the floor. To both of them, the silence was
driving them crazy. Why won’t he say anything? each one though.
	Crawford managed a nervous laugh as he looked up at Schuldich. “That, uh...
That really hurt.”
	Schuldich glanced up in surprise. He also began to laugh. He brought and arm up
and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. His other hand rubbed his slapped cheek. “Y-
yeah. It did.”
	The two looked at each with smiles in their eyes and on their faces. Together they
began to laugh, a full, real laugh that left both with good feelings.

	Schuldich knocked angrily on Crawford’s door. “Come on, Crawford! Let’s move
here!” No answer again. He turned around in a circle, smacking his hands down on the
railing across from the door. “Damnit!”
	He turned suddenly as he heard the soft click of the door. Crawford peeked
through the opening, almost shyly. Schuldich turned on him in anger.
	“Come on, Crawford!” he repeated. “What’s taking so long?”
	“Um... Schuldich,” Crawford said softly. Schuldich stared in surprise. Was that a
tiny flush on his cheeks? “I- I need your help.”
	Schuldich walked forward and pushed the door open. He turned around as
Crawford closed the door behind him. He boggled at what he saw.
	Crawford leaned against the door, hands clasped behind him, face averted to the
floor. He wore his pajama shirt, which was open, and a pair of boxers. Nothing else. His
hair was still tousled from sleep, and his flushing face had the gentle remembrances of the
pillow.
	“C- Crawford?!” Schuldich asked in surprise. He couldn’t pull his gaze away from
the man in front of him.
	“I- I couldn’t get my pants on,” Crawford said, blushing in embarrassment. 
	“How’d you manage last night then?!”
	Crawford walked past Schuldich, keeping his face averted. Schuldich followed
him down the hall and into his bedroom. He almost wanted to smile. Crawford looked so
cute like that.
	He stopped in his tracks. Cute? He didn’t say cute. He didn’t think Crawford was
cute. He could never think another guy was cute. He became angry with himself now.
God, he was thinking like Crawford was a damn girl or something. He shook his head and
continued to follow Crawford. Stupid thought. Don’t know what he was thinking.
	Crawford stood by his bed, blushing furiously. “I can’t go anywhere... till I get
dressed. And I can’t get my pants on...,” he repeated.
	Schuldich shook his head and ran a hand through his spiky red hair. “Again,
how’d you get your pajamas on last night then? I’m not going to fucking dress you like a
child!”
	Crawford became even more uncomfortable. “I- I had taken a hot bath last night,
and that had allowed me to bend enough to get my pants on...” He unconsciously rubbed
his chest. He had only come back from the hospital yesterday. A few of his fingers were
still bandaged up, and a couple of his ribs were still broken, although it wasn’t visible.
	“So go take another bath!”
	“We have to leave in half an hour!” Crawford looked up in desperation. He
clenched his fists at his sides.
	God, he looks like a damn child, Schuldich thought. As much as he wanted to, he
couldn’t pull his gaze away from Crawford. Something held him there. They locked eyes
and neither could pull away. 
	Schuldich sighed and finally pulled his gaze away. “Fine. I’ll help you. I ain’t ever
doing this again though!”
	Crawford smiled thinly. “You won’t have to. It’s not like I want you to dress me.”
	Schuldich shook his head, once again angry with himself. Any other day he could
have thrown Crawford off nonchalantly. He wouldn’t have had a second thought about
refusing him. But now... That helpless gaze that had caught him. The cute flushing
cheeks, and how childish he looked standing in his boxers.
	Schuldich bent down and tapped Crawford’s ankle. Crawford put his hands on
Schuldich’s shoulders to steady himself while he put one leg after the other into his pants.
Schuldich stood, pulling Crawford’s pants up. He stepped back and watched as Crawford
put a shirt on.
	Why was he thinking like this? he asked himself. He was thinking of Crawford
like a damn girl again. He looked away. Talking like he was cute and all. No. How... Why
was he thinking Crawford was cute? The last thing he wanted was to be attracted to a
man! Especially a man like Crawford!!
	Crawford tucked his shirt in and Schuldich swung his gaze back. Without
thinking, he reached for the opening of Crawford’s pants and tugged them forward.
Crawford, startled, took a step closer to the red head. Their bodies practically touched.
Schuldich looked at his hands as he fastened Crawford’s pants. He then looked back up
into Crawford’s eyes.
	They both were caught up again. They couldn’t pull away from the gaze they held
the other with. Schuldich found his breath taken away from him as he gazed into the
serious blue eyes of Crawford. Slowly, he reached up and pushed Crawford’s glasses
back onto the top of his head. The glasses raked the hair away from his forehead.
Schuldich remembered that’s how he had looked in the hospital, how cute it looked now.
His hand trailed down and cupped the side of Crawford’s face. 
	A gentle blush covered Crawford’s face. He was equally as breathless as he gazed
into Schuldich’s bright green eyes. So feral, like a wild animal’s. They were bright and
intense with the feeling. Feeling? Inside he also questioned himself. Why was he feeling
this? Why did he like being touched by Schuldich? He had never, never been attracted to
a man before, and certainly never to Schuldich. Why did he like this so much? He didn’t
want Schuldich to ever move. In fact, he almost wanted  Schuldich to lean down and kiss
him...
	Schuldich’s eyes became heavy lidded. His mind was his own, but he also felt like
leaning down and kissing Crawford. His fingers gently bushed at Crawford’s cheek,
pushing back an errant strand of hair. He slowly began to lean down as he tilted
Crawford’s face up towards his.
	They paused, fractions away from each other. Schuldich could feel Crawford’s
gentle breath mixing with his own. He could almost feel the touch of Crawford’s lips.  If
either of them had pursed their lips just a tad more, then they would have touched.
Schuldich closed his eyes. What bliss that must feel like. He had been kissed before,
many times, but never by a man. And never before had be felt so nervous as he
anticipated a kiss. His mind was blank except for Crawford, and he began to move
towards the man again.
	A loud knock sounded on the door to Crawford’s apartment, startling the two
men. They instantly pushed away from each other. Schuldich, stepped back, losing his
balance and falling onto his backside hard.
	“Damnit!!” he yelled loudly. Crawford stood and stared down at him in shock.
They regarded each other in surprise. Once more, they couldn’t break the spell of each
other’s eyes.
	The knock sounded again. “Crawford!” Nagi yelled. “I heard Schuldich in there
too. C’mere!”
	Crawford became professional as soon as he heard Nagi. He pulled his glasses
back down onto his nose and strided towards the door. Schuldich scrambled to his feet
and followed behind him. He watched as Crawford opened the door to reveal an angry
Nagi.
	“Geeze, making me wait.” He shifted from foot to foot. “Takatori-san called.
Because you were hurt, he’d ordering us to stay here till you recover.”
	Crawford looked startled. “But, he’ll be unguarded...!”
	“He said he won’t go out. He said you’re in no position to protect him anyway.”
	“But, the three of you could have at least gone.”
	“He called us the chicken without a head, without you.” Nagi looked displeased.
“He said he’ll just cancel his appointments and stay in the house. Since you were hurt,
he’s kinda expecting WeiB to show up.”
	“But he’ll be unprotected...!”
	Nagi glared at Crawford. “He’s giving us a few days off. Enjoy it a little. Now, no
more argument! You need this vacation as much as we do!” With that, Nagi turned and
walked briskly down the balcony, disappearing around the corner. 
	Schuldich stretched. “Whoo! It’s about time we’ve had a break!” He brushed past
Crawford as he exited the apartment.
	“Schuldich,” Crawford said quietly. The tone of his voice made Schuldich turn
and look at him. He had hoped that he could pass off that incident as nothing, but it
looked like Crawford wouldn’t let him. “That... never happened, right?”
	Schuldich looked curiously at Crawford. The dark haired man had his gaze locked
on the floor. His hand tightly gripped the doorknob, and his cheeks were once more
flushed. 
	Schuldich gazed at Crawford with a friendly smile. “Yeah, whatever.”
	Crawford looked up in surprise, his facing flushing more. “Schu...!”
	Schuldich winked and walked away. “Ja!”

	During the next week, all of their encounters were uncomfortable. Each time they
say the other, flashbacks of the closeness they had shared plagued both. 
	Schuldich entered the common kitchen to grab breakfast. Crawford sat there
reading the paper and eating a piece of toast. He paused for a second when Schuldich
walked in, but then grabbed his cup and sipped his coffee in an attempt to ignore the red
head.
	“Morning,” Schuldich said. He knew how to pretend to be casual. He was good at
it. Memories and odd feelings ate him up inside, but he wouldn’t show it to Crawford. He
wouldn’t let him know.
	Crawford nodded his head in reply but didn’t say anything. Schuldich sat down
and picked up Crawford’s piece of toast. He looked at it reflectively, and then, as soon as
he had Crawford’s gaze upon him, he took a huge bite out of it, right over the marks
Crawford had put into it. He grinned cheekily at the dark haired, angry man.
	“Kinda like an indirect kiss, huh?”
	Taken aback, Crawford flushed deeply. To try to hide his feelings, he pulled the
paper in front of his face. “Hmph,” was his only answer.
	Schuldich, disappointed for some reason, left the room. Inside, he was unable to
bear the uncomfortable situation. He stood outside the kitchen and off to the side. His
face was bright red. Why had he done that?! Indirect kiss. Did he really want to kiss
Crawford that badly? Why in the world would he want to kiss that stuffy, serious man?!
	Crawford, in the kitchen, felt equally as nervous. Indirect kiss. Why had Schuldich
done something so embarrassing? Couldn’t he just let it lie? Couldn’t he just forget the
fact that they had almost kissed? It was a weak moment for both of them. It’s not like
they were attracted to each other or anything.
	Nagi walked into the room. He glanced at Schuldich as he walked through the
door. The red head was too far deep in thought to even notice the younger boy. Nagi
looked curiously at Crawford, who still had a faint blush on his face. Nagi glanced over
the newspaper.
	“What’re you doing, hiding dirty magazines under there?” He knew that would
make Crawford mad.
	Crawford glanced up in surprise. He hadn’t even heard Nagi come in. “Huh?” he
asked.
	Nagi shook his head in disgust. “Nothing.”